Trenton man arrested in connection with murder of Rasheen Jones

TRENTON — An 18-year-old Trenton man was arrested Thursday in connection with the shooting death of Rasheen Jones.

Zaire Smith was arrested at 7:20 a.m. on Thursday by the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force in the 400 block of Rutherford Avenue.

Rasheen Jones was gunned down on East Stuyvesant Avenue while he was returning from a trip to a local convenience store on July 23. The 31-year-old was said to have been returning home with paper towels when he was shot in what police believe was a robbery gone bad. Rasheen Jones had worked as a barber for 15 years and worked most recently at Mason’s barber shop on Pennington Avenue. Following his death friends and family recalled Jones as a hard working family man.

“They killed a working man!” co-worker James Jackson said with tears running down his face in a July 23 Trentonian article. “I hate that he left us, but now he is at peace. All he was doing was taking care of his kids and they killed him.”

He was the city’s 23rd homicide. According to a July 24 article Jones’ girlfriend of seven-years, Joann Fisher, arrived to find him in his final moments in the alleyway as she dialed 9-1-1 while she asked Jones to hang on.

Since Jones’ murder seven more people have been killed in Trenton. The city is closing in on a grim tie with 2005 where 31 people were killed during a wave of gang violence.

Lt. Mark Kieffer said that Smith is charged with murder, felony murder, armed robbery, possession of weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of weapon. $1 million cash bail.

Thursday’s arrest was credited, in large degree, to Detective Edgar Rios’ work early on in the investigation. Rios was injured along with Jimmy Letts during a shootout with Eric McNeil in the first block of Hobart Avenue.

The shootout unfolded the morning of Aug. 15 when Letts and Rios were taking McNeil’s ex-girlfriend back to her house on the first block of Hobart Avenue after she reported to police at headquarters that she was badly beaten by McNeil and he killed her three-week old puppy, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said last week.

Letts was released from the hospital the following day after being treated for his wounds. On Friday, Lt. Mark Kieffer said that Rios remained in critical but stable condition.